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It was a seesaw of a game that the Grizzlies tied the series on. Built on runs, both teams had their chances of putting each other away, but the Grizzlies took advantage on the back of Zach Randolph which brings us to Game 7.

Based on what has happened in the entire series, this game will be a dog fight. Both teams will be out there putting everything on the line to face Dallas in the Western Conference Finals. So what do they need to do to get this win?

Memphis

Give Z-BO the ball and get out of the way! In their losses this series, not including the triple overtime thriller, Randolph took less than 20 shots, 13 in Game 2 and 9 in Game 5 to be exact. The man cannot be stopped by anyone that OKC throws at him, Memphis have to give him the ball and let him go to work.

I liked the inclusion of OJ Mayo in the starting lineup for Game 6, it gave them an extra threat on offense and possibly caught the Thunder off guard. Along with Conley he gives Memphis another true outside scoring option.

Marc Gasol by his standards had a pretty quiet game statistically last night but it did not impact negatively on the Griz, hustle plays made up for not having his usual double-double. How ever he plays really can’t hurt their chances of winning.

Tony Allen is the spark for the Grizzlies, I’m expecting him to play big minutes, give them more second chance opportunities and win those 50-50 balls. Allen and Randolph are the guys that give this Memphis team its blue collar identity.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The big disappointment in Game 6 was Kevin Durant, he started the game hot but after getting two early fouls he couldn’t get it together. If this happens again Durant needs to get himself going by taking the ball to the hole and not settling for jump shots like he did last night.

As the floor general, Russell Westbrook has to see this and help his fellow superstar out. A lot of responsibility falls on Westbrook’s shoulders, much like Derrick Rose for the Bulls, he is one of their main scoring options. He has to lead the team, play smart basketball, limit turnovers and I would like to see his assist numbers up. I don’t think he utilizes his teammates enough, especially when he has someone like Kevin Durant beside him.

Finally OKC have to do something about Zach Randolph, the man is killing them one on one on and off the block. It could be too late to try new things but just for the first quarter of Game 7 they should see how he responds to help defense or a hard double team. We haven’t witnessed Z-BO’s passing ability out of the post these playoffs, he has just been a black hole, but a very good one.

Outcome

As good as the Grizzlies have shown they can be, it is Oklahoma City’s game to lose. More specifically Westbrook’s game to lose, unless Durant shoots 3 from 14 like he did in Game 6 all the fingers will be pointed at Russell. He needs to think less on being a scorer and more on being a point guard, he is still very young and will learn this as he gets more experience under his belt but lets hope he can learn quickly for Game 7.

I have been a fan of the Grizzlies and all that they have achieved these playoffs but I will have to side with OKC going through to the Conference Finals. However I would love to be proven wrong..

Until next time..

D.B.

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